Opportunity Information: Apply for 18 523
The National Science Foundation (NSF) grant opportunity titled Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes 2.0 (CRISP 2.0) is a research solicitation focused on strengthening the resilience of the United States' critical infrastructures by funding deeply integrated, transdisciplinary work. It sits within NSF's broader Risk and Resilience activity and was shaped by the recognition that recent large-scale disasters, including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria, exposed major vulnerabilities and cascading failures across essential systems. The program is also designed to reflect NSF's emphasis on "convergence" research, meaning proposals are expected to go beyond simple collaboration and instead fuse methods, concepts, and expertise across fields to create new frameworks capable of addressing complex societal challenges.
At the center of CRISP 2.0 is the idea that critical infrastructures are not isolated assets but interconnected networks of systems and processes that continuously deliver essential goods and services such as power, water, transportation, communications, and others. For the purposes of this competition, infrastructures are considered interdependent when they rely on one another to function or when the way one infrastructure delivers services can significantly affect another. The solicitation is explicitly interested in these interdependencies because they can amplify risk, create cascading disruptions, and complicate recovery, but they can also potentially be leveraged to create redundancy, substitution options, and smarter designs that improve overall service continuity during shocks.
CRISP 2.0 has three high-level goals. First, it aims to build and sustain a genuine interdisciplinary research community where engineers work synergistically with social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) scientists to rethink how infrastructures are designed, managed, and governed as service-delivery processes, not just physical systems. Second, it seeks to transform multiple fields by reframing interdependent infrastructures as dynamic processes and services that may complement one another or substitute for one another under stress, which is a key resilience concept when one system can partially cover for another during disruptions. Third, it aims to produce practical innovations that measurably improve quality of life, support economic growth, and help infrastructures withstand and recover from both internal disruptions (like equipment failures, capacity constraints, operational errors) and external shocks (natural hazards, technological accidents, and human-induced events).
The solicitation lists several specific research objectives that proposals are expected to address. These include generating new knowledge and solution approaches that improve the ability of both existing and future interdependent critical infrastructure systems (ICIs) to adapt to change and recover from disruptions. It also emphasizes creating new theoretical frameworks and multidisciplinary models that can model, monitor, and predict complex infrastructure behavior under stress, including cascading failures and unintended consequences across interconnected systems. Another major objective is developing integrative frameworks that explicitly characterize interdependencies and show how those interdependencies can be managed or leveraged to enhance service delivery and resilience. Importantly, CRISP 2.0 requires serious attention to human and institutional factors by encouraging research that examines socioeconomic, cultural, political, legal, psychological, and other barriers that prevent resilience improvements, along with strategies to overcome them. Finally, the program supports work that creates, curates, and uses publicly accessible infrastructure data, recognizing that progress in modeling and decision-making depends heavily on better data availability and responsible data practices.
A core requirement is that funded projects must study at least two interdependent infrastructures in relation to one or more shared services, with the intent of contributing to a new interdisciplinary research paradigm for ICIs. The program is not limited to a single technical domain; instead, it is structured to force meaningful integration between engineering and SBE perspectives. Because of that, NSF states clearly that proposals lacking both at least one engineer and at least one SBE scientist on the project team will be returned without review. While engineering and SBE integration is the minimum, teams are encouraged to add complementary expertise from areas such as computing and data science, statistics, ecology, seismology, and other relevant disciplines when those perspectives strengthen the work.
Administratively, this is an NSF discretionary grant program (Funding Opportunity Number 18-523) under CFDA numbers 47.041 and 47.075. The agency anticipated making around 18 awards under this solicitation. The original closing date listed for proposals was March 7, 2018, and the solicitation was created on December 6, 2017. The opportunity description does not specify a fixed award ceiling in the provided text (it appears as 0), which typically means applicants need to refer to the full solicitation details for budget expectations and any limits by project type.
Overall, CRISP 2.0 is designed for teams that can jointly tackle the technical, organizational, economic, and behavioral dimensions of infrastructure resilience, with a strong expectation that the result will be new models, new design and management concepts, better data resources, and actionable insights that help communities and decision-makers improve the continuity and reliability of essential services under real-world stress.Apply for 18 523
- The National Science Foundation in the science and technology and other research and development sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 47.041, 47.075.
- This funding opportunity was created on Dec 06, 2017.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 07, 2018. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 18 candidate(s).
- Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) - NSF CRISP 2.0 (Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes 2.0)
What is the CRISP 2.0 grant opportunity?
CRISP 2.0 is a National Science Foundation (NSF) research solicitation focused on strengthening the resilience of the United States' critical infrastructures by supporting deeply integrated, transdisciplinary research on interdependent infrastructure systems and processes.
Which agency is offering this funding opportunity?
The funding opportunity is offered by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
What is the official title of the solicitation?
The official title is Critical Resilient Interdependent Infrastructure Systems and Processes 2.0 (CRISP 2.0).
What problem is CRISP 2.0 trying to address?
CRISP 2.0 targets vulnerabilities and cascading failures across essential systems that were highlighted by large-scale disasters (including Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria). The program aims to improve how critical infrastructure systems withstand disruptions and recover while maintaining essential service delivery.
What does NSF mean by "critical infrastructures" in this program?
In this program, critical infrastructures are treated as interconnected networks of systems and processes that deliver essential goods and services such as power, water, transportation, communications, and other services necessary for society and the economy.
What does "interdependent" mean in the CRISP 2.0 context?
Infrastructures are considered interdependent when they rely on one another to function or when the way one infrastructure delivers services can significantly affect another. CRISP 2.0 emphasizes that these interdependencies can worsen disruptions through cascading failures, but can also be leveraged to improve continuity through redundancy or substitution options.
What is meant by "resilience" in CRISP 2.0?
Resilience in CRISP 2.0 centers on the ability of interdependent infrastructure systems to withstand internal disruptions (such as equipment failures, capacity constraints, or operational errors) and external shocks (such as natural hazards, technological accidents, and human-induced events), and to recover while sustaining essential service delivery.
What is "convergence research" and why does it matter for this solicitation?
CRISP 2.0 is aligned with NSF's emphasis on convergence research, where proposals are expected to go beyond basic collaboration and instead fuse methods, concepts, and expertise across disciplines to create new frameworks for complex societal challenges like interdependent infrastructure resilience.
What are the main goals of CRISP 2.0?
CRISP 2.0 has three high-level goals: (1) build and sustain an interdisciplinary research community integrating engineering with social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) sciences; (2) transform multiple fields by reframing interdependent infrastructures as dynamic processes and services that can complement or substitute for one another under stress; and (3) produce practical innovations that measurably improve quality of life, support economic growth, and strengthen infrastructure performance during and after disruptions.
What types of research outcomes is CRISP 2.0 looking for?
The solicitation emphasizes outcomes such as new knowledge and solution approaches for adaptation and recovery, new theoretical frameworks and multidisciplinary models to predict behavior under stress (including cascading failures and unintended consequences), integrative frameworks to characterize and manage interdependencies, research on human and institutional barriers to resilience improvements and strategies to overcome them, and publicly accessible infrastructure data resources that support better modeling and decision-making.
How many infrastructures must a project study to be eligible?
A core requirement is that funded projects must study at least two interdependent infrastructures in relation to one or more shared services.
Does CRISP 2.0 require a focus on services, not just physical assets?
Yes. A central theme of CRISP 2.0 is viewing infrastructures as service-delivery processes, not only as physical systems. The program is interested in how services are delivered, disrupted, substituted, and restored across interdependent systems.
Is integration between engineering and social sciences required?
Yes. The solicitation explicitly requires meaningful integration between engineering and social, behavioral, and economic (SBE) perspectives.
What team composition is required?
NSF states that proposals must include at least one engineer and at least one SBE scientist on the project team. Proposals that do not include both will be returned without review.
Can teams include other disciplines beyond engineering and SBE?
Yes. While engineering and SBE are the minimum required areas, teams are encouraged to add complementary expertise (for example, computing and data science, statistics, ecology, seismology, and other relevant fields) when it strengthens the research.
What kinds of disruptions should projects consider?
CRISP 2.0 is interested in both internal disruptions (equipment failures, capacity constraints, operational errors) and external shocks (natural hazards, technological accidents, and human-induced events).
Does the solicitation emphasize cascading failures across systems?
Yes. A major focus is on understanding and modeling complex behavior under stress, including cascading failures and unintended consequences across interconnected infrastructures.
How does CRISP 2.0 treat interdependencies: only as risks, or also as opportunities?
Both. The solicitation highlights that interdependencies can amplify risk and cascading disruptions, but it also notes they can potentially be leveraged to create redundancy, substitution options, and smarter designs that improve service continuity.
Are human, institutional, or governance factors part of the research scope?
Yes. CRISP 2.0 encourages serious attention to human and institutional factors, including socioeconomic, cultural, political, legal, psychological, and other barriers that prevent resilience improvements, as well as strategies to overcome those barriers.
Is infrastructure data creation or sharing relevant to CRISP 2.0?
Yes. The program supports work that creates, curates, and uses publicly accessible infrastructure data, recognizing that improved modeling and decision-making depend on better data availability and responsible data practices.
What NSF activity area does CRISP 2.0 sit within?
CRISP 2.0 sits within NSF's broader Risk and Resilience activity.
What is the Funding Opportunity Number for CRISP 2.0?
The Funding Opportunity Number is 18-523.
What are the CFDA numbers associated with this opportunity?
The CFDA numbers listed are 47.041 and 47.075.
How many awards did NSF anticipate making under this solicitation?
NSF anticipated making around 18 awards under this solicitation.
When was the solicitation created and when was the original proposal deadline?
The solicitation was created on December 6, 2017, and the original closing date for proposals was March 7, 2018.
Is there a stated maximum award amount (award ceiling) in the provided information?
No. The provided text does not specify a fixed award ceiling (it appears as 0), which typically indicates applicants would need to consult the full solicitation for budget expectations and any limits by project type.
What makes a proposal "noncompliant" based on the information provided?
Based on the information provided, a key compliance requirement is team composition: proposals lacking both at least one engineer and at least one SBE scientist will be returned without review.
What is the intended impact of CRISP 2.0 research?
The intended impact includes actionable insights, new models, new design and management concepts, better data resources, and practical innovations that improve the continuity and reliability of essential services, thereby improving quality of life and supporting economic growth.
Does CRISP 2.0 focus on existing infrastructure, future infrastructure, or both?
Both. The solicitation calls for new knowledge and solution approaches that improve the ability of both existing and future interdependent critical infrastructure systems to adapt to change and recover from disruptions.
Are single-infrastructure studies a fit for this program?
The solicitation requires studying at least two interdependent infrastructures tied to shared services, so single-infrastructure studies would not meet the core requirement as described.
What is the underlying research perspective CRISP 2.0 wants teams to adopt?
CRISP 2.0 pushes an interdisciplinary paradigm that treats interdependent infrastructures as dynamic processes and services, emphasizing integration of technical, organizational, economic, and behavioral dimensions to address complex real-world stress conditions.
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